Opting out of globalisation not a viable choice: Rangarajan

DR C. RANGARAJAN, Chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has said that opting out of globalisation is not a viable choice.

"We need to stay and win," he said, delivering the 14th convocation address at the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University here.

But what the country needed to wrest maximum benefits out of international trade and investment was to create an appropriate framework. This included reforming the trade system. "The risks of an open economy are well known. We must not, however, miss the opportunities that the global system can offer," the former RBI Governor said.

"The world cannot marginalise India. But India, if it chooses, can marginalise itself," he said.

Dr Rangarajan suggested that the country could voice its concerns joining hands with others to modify the international trading arrangements to take care of the special needs.

"At the same time, we must identify and strengthen our comparative advantages. This two-fold approach would help us to meet the challenges of globalisation," he said.

On higher education, he said the country needed to have a network of well-equipped colleges.

"If need be, we should amend the laws and procedures to create such institutions," he said.

Calling for radical change in higher education, he pointed out that it was the average (standard of students) that caused discomfort. "There is an urgent need to strengthen higher education in terms of quality and effectiveness," he added.

The open university had got 1.61 lakh students on its rolls, with 1.46 lakh of them registering for undergraduate courses, according to Dr D. Rama Chandram, Vice-Chancellor.

Mr K. Badrinath, a prisoner of central jail in Rajahmundry, had won Prof. G. Ram Reddy Gold Medal for securing highest marks in MA (Public Administration) for the year 2004-05.

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated January 26, 2006)

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